Hopper construction



May 11 1926.

1,584,295- 1.. P. HOFF HoPPER coNsTRuTIoN Filed March 21,v 1921 4sheets-sheet 1 INVENToR LEIGH P. HOFF lNvENToR EIGH P. HOFF 4 L)eets-Sheet 2 May 11 1926.

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May 11 192s. Y1,584,2si5 V L. P. HOFF HOPPER CONSTRUCTION Filed March2l, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet :5

W7 www@ May 11 1926.

1,584,295 l.. P. HOFF HOPPER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 2l, 1921 4Sheets-Sheet 4 M' Mig/rms Patented May 11, 1926.

UNITED STATES LEIGH P. HOFF, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO,

ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO

FRANK H. DUNIBAR.

HOPIER CONSTRUCTION.

Application led March 21, 1921. Serial No. 454,820.

My invention relates to hoppers, more iartlcularly it relates to hoppersadapted or holding or discharging ashes or other hot abrasive, orcorrosive material. My invention is shown in connection withan ashproducing furnace. Up to the present time, the operators of large powerplants have been seriously affected by defective ash controllingapparatus. The larger the plant the more serious and a gravated have thetroubles arising from t is source of thel plant become.

Almost any mediocre means for handling the ash of a small plant willgive reasonable satisfaction but as the size of the plant is increased,and with the coming of automatic stokers a'nd forced drafts, the matterof handling the large volume of ash in a superheated condition as aresult of the forced draft, together with the necessity of using waterfor cooling the ashes, the matter has become more and more serious andthe deficiency of the old type of equipment has become more and morenoted and accentuated. The problem that confronts the installer and themanufacturer of this type of equipment is not only a question ofeffectiveness in mechanism but likewise a question of cost ofconstruction, and up to the present time the combination of these twofeatures has not been obtained as it has in the present invention.

Until very recently, a boiler containing five thousand square feet ofheating surface, for example, was called a 500 H. P. boiler. Today thesame boiler is operated to produce 1000 to 1500 or even 2000 boiler H.P. To obtain this result, resort has been had to forced draft. The typeof ashesv produced under these circumstances are more difficult tohandle than was formerly the case. This is further aggravated by theincreasing tendency to use coals of lower grade, and is furtheraggravated by the fact that whereas formerly the size of a boiler seldomexceeded 500 H. P., now they are practically alwaysI between 1400 and2500 H. P.

The net result of all of these new con-ditions, is that whereas formerlyin a large installation about 3% tons of clean, disintegrated ashes hadto be removed from a single boiler daily, today from 20 to 50 tons ofclinkered ash, highly heated, mustbe handled from each boiler. When itis further considered that in a modern station there are provided fromten to twenty such boilers, the difficulty of handling the ash becomesapparent.

In meetlng these conditions and solving them, the inventor has producedthe invention described herein, among the objects of which are thefollowing To provide a gate for a hopper comprising a door and a frameand adapted to collect water assing through the hopper and discharge t esame to a drain located at one end of the door.

To provide a hopper door having waterv troughs located in substantiallythe same ff horizontal plane with the door and adapted to collect waterpassing through the hopper and discharge the same at one end of thedoor. To provide a gate for a hopper comprismg a door adapted to collectwater passing through the hopper and discharge the same at one endthereof and a stationary trough located at the end of the door fromwhich water is discharged and adapted to receive water from the saiddoor while preventing the -entrance of substantial amounts of solidmaterial from the hopper'thereinto.

To provide other Idetails of improvement tending to increase theefficiency and serviceability of a hopper and associated mechamsm.

To accomplish the foregoing and other useful ends, my inventionlcomprises means hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, illustrating embodiments of myinvention Figure 1 is a perspective View, partly in section, of afurnace having a hopper, gate, door and door-operating means,constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal, sectional View,

through the hopper wall, taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section, through a portion of the hopper wall,taken on line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Fig. 38L is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing a modified, andpreferred, modification of hopper Wall members.

Fig. 4 is a side` elevation of the hopper gate frame.

Fig. 5 is an end view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of thegate frame and 15-15 of Fig. 14.

a door assembled therewith, the operating mechanism for the door beingpartly broken away.

Fig. 6 shows the door wheel adjusting means in side and end elevations.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the gate frame and door taken on line 7--7of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of a brick sup-` porting yoke.

Fig. 9 is a central cross section thereof.

Fig. 10 `is a cross sectional view of the yoke shown in Fig. 8, takensubstantially at right angles .to the line on which Fig. 9 is taken.

Fig. 11 is a View similar to Fig. ,8, but showing the modified form ofyoke.

Fig. 12 is a view, partly in section, of the yoke shown in Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a twin hopper similar to that shown inFig. 1, but with the boiler and associated mechanism omitted.

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary top View of a door, showing its position withrespect to a gate frame, portions of the gate frame being cut away andothers shown in section.

Fig. 15'is a sectional view taken on line Fig. 16 is a sectional Viewtaken on line 16-16 of Fig. 14. v

Referring to the drawings more in detail, it will be seen thatassociated with the grate, 2, of an under feed type of furnace, Fig. 1,there is a hopper, 3, along the front of the grate into which hopper theashes and cinders fall. At the bottom of the hopper, 3, there is a gateframe, 4, in which the gate, 5, is mounted on wheels, 6a, 6b, etc.,Figs. 5 and 7, which wheels are all on the track, 9, on the inside offrame, 4.

Thewalls of the hopper are held in position by steel ribs, 11, Fig. 1,the upper ends of which ribs may be suitably secured to an overheadgirder. The lower ends of these ribs are .secured to a yoke, 11, Fig. 1.To this yoke the gate frame, 4, may be securedthrough the medium ofsuitable bolts, 21, see Fig. 4. Within the frame formed by lthe steelribs, 11, and the gate, I provide a wall made of cast iron L-shapedslabs, 24, 25, etc., which serve as a backing and supporting shelves forthe bricks of refractory material. -Each ofthe cast iron slabs isprovided with a shelf, 26, see Fig. 3, upon which a horizontal row ofthe bricks of refractory material are laid as indicated in Figs. 1 and2. It will be seen that the upper and lower edges of the back arechamfered so that adjoining. edges of two slabs overlap. It will beunderstood that on each of these shelves, 26, I mayl rovide one or morerows of refractory bric s. When two or more layers of these bricks areassembled, it will be seen that a vertical hollow channel, 27, etc.,Fig. 2, is formed, inasmuch as each brick-is made with a hollow transyverse channel. When two or more such bricks are stacked on one another,the hollow channel is extended. rlhe object of this hollow channel is toenable the bricks to be secured to the cast iron frame by suitable boltsand braces or yokes and yet protect the bolts and yokes from the hotmaterial.

I contemplate providing yokes of two characters, either one for eachbrick, see yoke 29, Fig. 8, or a long multi-sectioned yoke common to twoor more, see yoke 29", Fig. 11. In either case the bolt of a particularbrick passes through the common or single yoke as the case may be andextends through the cast iron wall pieces 24, 25, and steel rib, 11. Theyokes are preferably made dish shaped, as shown in Figs. 8 and 10.

I also contemplate having a slot in thecentral section of the yoke, seeFigs. 8 and 11, through which the bolt passes and in which the bolt maybe adjusted. In the multi-sectioned yoke, I contemplate having are-inforcing rib 29'J across the yoke dividing it into two sections witha bolt slot in each, see Fig. 11.

Although in Fig. 2, I show both of the bolts, 30 and 31,515 extendingthrough the cast iron backing and through the steel rib,

11, there may be instances where the bolt.

pierces the cast iron frame at points not co-incident with the steelribs, in which case the brick would be held in place by being secured tothe cast iron plate only.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, it will be seen that the bearing section,17, of shaft, 7, which carries the wheel, 6, is eccentric with respectto the rest of the shaft.

The object of this arrangement is that by rotating the shaft 7, in thebearing, 18, which bearing is suitably secured and mounted on the dooritself, the wheel, 6, may be adjusted with respect to the door. This istrue of each wheel and supporting shaft since they are all similar. 'Iheset screw, 19, in the bearing, 18, is provided for clamping the shaft inposition when once set, or for varying the adjustment whenevernecessary. This adjustment is especially desirable and necessary whenthe door is provided with more than three wheels. In the shaft, 7, Iprovide a hole, 7, into which I can-insert a rod for turning the shaft,7, in order to adjust the wheel. In connection with a hopper of theabove character, it is quite important that draft leaks around the doorshould be prevented as much as possible when the door is'closed, and bymeans of the adjusting mechanism above described, I can insure alwayshaving a tight fit between the carriage and the frame, which frameconstitutes, in fact, the rim of the hopper. It will be seen that if thespace, 20, Fig 7,

between the door and the f rame is large, the leakage will interferewith the regulation ofthe draft, and the adjusting means describedenables me to maintain the necessary dist-ance between the'door and theframe to insure a substantially tight fit when the door is closed.

It will be seen that Fig. 13 shows an arrangement of the structure whentwo hoppers are arranged adjacent to each other, each hopper providedwith its own ash door. These ash doors, of course, may be .operated inany suitable manner. In-F1g. 1, the ash door is shown operated by hand,while in Fig. 13 the doors are operated by a multiple piston cylinderthrough the medium of the rods 48 and 49. In this figure, the left-handdoor is shown partly open.

Associated with the lower part` of the hopper, 'I provide a drainingdevice for catching the water used to 'cool the ashes therein. Thisdraining device is connected. through a suitable conduit with a drainpipe which carries the water olf -to a sewer.

WIhe arrangement for accomplishing this is shownJ in Figs. 14, 15 andl.-

Referring to these figures the gate frameis indicated by 54 and carriesa door which may be a casting, 50, along the rear end and sides of whichdoor are formed troughs 52 and 52, the rear end of the door being thatywhich is located nearest to the cylinder 40. Troughs 52 and 52a do notextend across the front end of the door as will be noted V from Fig. 14.The rear end and left side troughs 52 and 52a are connected with eachother by a duct 58 which is cored out in the casting when it is made. Inother words, this duct 53 is Yan opening through a part of the castingor door and iscovered over on the top; substantially the sameconstruction is employed on the right hand. side of the door which parthas however been broken away in this ligure.

Acrossthe fro-nt end of the door and secured to the gate frame 54 is atrough 55 having its -upper rear side 56 extended for a part of thewidth of the door 50 as will be noted in Fig. 14. This rear side 56 of 0trough 55 is inclined upwardly and rearwardly to such an extent thatwhen lthe door is closed the forward extension or drip flange 57 of door50 projects over side 56 so that water which drips. off the extension 5o-r flange 57 will fall into the trough 55.

Each side troughv 52 extends toward, lthe front end of door 50 andcommunicates` with` enclosed passages -or ducts 59 formed through asolid portion of the door which in turn are extendedv somewhat beyondthefront edge of the door as `shown at GOand project over the rea-r wall 61of trough 55.' By this arrangement water passing olf the top of door50along the rear end or o posite sides thereof will be caught 1n troughs52 and 52'L and discharged into troughv when -..the door is in closedtion with yrespect to the gate frame and opper discharge opening. Waterpassing off the fourth side of the gate, namely the forward end, maydrip into trough 55 due to the location of the side extension 56 of thetrough and the overhanging drip flange 57. Suitable drain connectionsmay be used to conduct the water from trough 55 to'A a sewer or otherplace of disposal.

It will be seen that I have thus provided a hopper gate comprisinggadoor in which integrally formed waterfcollecting troughs along aplurality of sidesthereof, and a stationary trough secured to the gateframe so located as tocollect the water discharged from the trough ofthe door as well as from the top thereof.

Fig. 15 which shows the rear-end of the' door indicates the bottom wallof trough 52 as slopino downwardly from approxi-l mately the middle ofthe rea-r end to a point adjacent to-each side trough 52.

It will further appear that I have provided a water-collecting trougharranged. on the gate and in substantially the plane of the gate.troughs 52 and 52a neither extend above the door 50 nor roject downbelow the door to a marked egree. Such structure is thus compact andadapted to occupy the miniosi- That is, from end `to end the v mumamount of space vertically which, it

Having thus described my invention as embodied in certain practicaldevices, what I desire tosecure byLetters Patent is defined in theclaims, it being -understood however, that various changes, notinvolving invention, may occur to those skilled in the art, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of my invention.

lVhat I claim as my invention is 1. door, for a hopper having a bottomopening,` provided with open top liquid collecting and carrying troughsformed integrally along its rear end and opposite sides,

and in substantially tho same horizontal plane therewith, coveredpassages extending at angles from the said end trough to the said sidetroughs for conducting liquid from the end trough to the side troughs,covered passages extending inwardly at angles to the said troughs at thefront end of side troughs, axle carrying bosses at either end of thedoor 1n substantial alignment with the said side troughs, and doorsupporting rollers on the said axles.

2. In combination with a frame for a hopper having a bottom opening, adoor having a forwardly extending front edge, communicating troughsformed in the door and along the sides and rear end thereof, the saidside troughs terminating in eovere'd liquid discharging outlets at thefront end of the said door, the said outlets extending at angles to thesaid side troughs, axle carrying bosses in line withthe said sidetroughs and located at each end .of the said door, rollers on the axles,and a stationary trough adapted to receive liquid on the said sidetrough outlets and from the said forwardly extending front end of thedoor.

3. A substantially rectangular door, for a hopper having a bottomopening, having axle carrying bosses at either end ot' the 0ppositelongitudinal sides and in substantial alignment therewith, rollersmounted on the said axles, the door having a trough along its rear endbetween the rear end bosses, and side troughs between and aligned withthe said front and rear bosses on either side 0f the door, coveredliquid carrying passages connecting the end and side troughs andextending at angles thereto across the door and past the said bosses,and a covered liquid discharging passage at the front end of each sidetrough inclined at an angle thereto and extending inwardly of the doorpast the said front bosses.

4. A substantially rectangular door having an axle carrying boss at eachcorner thereof, the bosses at the rear and front ends on' either side ofthe door being in substantial alignment, open topped rear and sidetroughs aligned with and located between the respective bosses, coveredliquid carrying passages extending past the said rear bosses andconnecting the said end and side troughs, covered liquid carryingpassages or the discharge end of each side trough extending past thesaid front bosses, the said bosses, troughs and passages being integralwith the door and lying in substantially the same horizontal planetherewith. In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 17thday of March,

LEIGI-I P. HOFF.

